### Chapter: Savior

Saya sat there stunned, questioning whether any of this could possibly be real. Then she pinched her forearm, and the sharp sting confirmed what she already feared.

She was locked inside a vast cage made of iron and silver with her father and her sister, Anika. Her brother Elric had made the fatal mistake of kidnapping the daughter of King Alpha Kadir I of the Green Field pack.

Now her family had become hostages, a bargaining chip meant to force Elric to return the stolen princess. Her father, Lord Sallow, was a wealthy and respected man, loved by his people.

How had they fallen so far?

Anika's sobs broke the silence.

Saya watched her. They were only two years apart, but they were night and day. Saya was known for her strength and defiance, according to her mother, while Anika was the very picture of sweetness and submission.

Then a man approached, offering water with false kindness. Instinctively, Saya backed away.

He laughed at her fear. His companions drifted off, leaving them alone in the cage.

The man studied Saya with a lewd gaze and tried to tempt her with the water in his amphora.

Though her father pretended to sleep, the man grabbed Saya by her dark hair and poured the water onto the ground in a mocking gesture before forcing a kiss on her. Disgusted but refusing to break, Saya endured the assault.

Anika's scream woke their father.

In a quick flash of cunning, Saya slid the knife from the man's belt without him noticing.

Her father advanced with contained fury, ready to attack, while Saya, still trapped by her hair, raked her nails across the man's eyes.

He almost cried out, but she smothered the sound with a firm hand over his mouth.

When her father saw the knife, he didn't hesitate. He drove it into the man's chest.

Once the man hit the floor, her father searched his pockets and found the keys to the cage.

With a swift movement, he tossed the body aside.

Saya exchanged a look with her father. They both knew what they had to do.

He opened the door silently, careful not to give them away.

Once it was open, there was only one choice: run. Saya took Anika's trembling hand.

"I'm scared," Anika whispered.

"Quiet. Run for your life, and don't look back, no matter whether Dad or I are with you. Understand?" Saya instructed firmly.

"Will you protect me, Saya?"

"Always," Saya answered, the promise clear in her eyes.

"Now!" her father shouted, and without another word, they broke into a run.

Far from the cage, they shifted into strong wolves. The sound of their paws pounding over the ground alerted the King Alpha's guards, who began chasing them with piercing shouts.

There were too many of them, and escape seemed almost impossible, but Saya remembered her father's words: "It's better to die fighting than live on your knees."

They ran, driven by desperation, with her father covering their backs.

The guards were dangerously close, armed with bows and arrows, firing without pause. Some were in threatening wolf forms.

Fear closed around them, but adrenaline pushed them forward.

***

Not far away, the Luna Dagda pack was gathering berries, herbs, and mushrooms while others hunted to provide for their people.

Among them was Alpha Savir, whose lands had been won by right of an ancient battle.

With his keen senses, Savir caught the presence of strangers and silenced his men with a gesture.

They were few, barely ten, but each one had been a warrior from birth, ready for battle. Savir's wolves scattered, camouflaging themselves among the vegetation and trees as they waited for the threat to reveal itself.

Anika ran without stopping, with Saya and their father close behind.

An arrow cut through the air and struck the man's leg. He fell with a cry of pain.

Saya stopped and doubled back to help her father. Trapped in pain, he fought to get to his feet.

"Go without me!" he cried desperately.

But in wolf form, Saya couldn't abandon him.

Their enemies were closing in fast. Saya searched frantically for something to defend herself with, unaware of Savir's watchful gaze.

He didn't know why, but suddenly the scent of the earth changed, and that she-wolf made his inner wolf roar.

Overwhelmed by fear, Anika broke down crying and begged for help.

When Saya saw a wild wolf rushing toward her, she launched herself at him, into a fight her wolf could not win.

Even so, the wolf went down badly wounded by her bite.

She tried to do the same to another enemy, but failed.

The wolf came at her with all his strength.

Saya fought bravely, but he dragged her down and forced her to shift back into her human form.

"Run, Anika!" Saya shouted.

Paralyzed by terror, Anika barely managed to move while another wolf chased her.

The attacker threw himself over Saya, while another wolf battered her father.

The wolf pinning Saya shifted back into human form. He was none other than King Kadir's champion, the most feared warrior of them all.

Savir watched the scene with icy clarity. He recognized the king's champion, an old wolf enemy he had once defeated. A malicious smile touched his face as he remembered that past victory.

"I'm going to give it to you so hard, little bitch, you'll whimper like a bitch in heat!"

The man tried to tear her clothes. She screamed, clawed at him, and defended herself however she could.

The wolves of the Luna Dagda pack stayed silent, rage boiling in their blood. They could not bear it, not after their people had endured something so horrible.

"Help! Good Luna, Moon Goddess, don't abandon us! Luna Dagda!" her father cried from the ground.

His words were enough. Savir looked at his people.

"Fight!" he said, and leaped out of the grass, revealing himself to his enemies as he shifted into a fierce dark wolf with red eyes.

The guards had not expected him.

The Luna Dagda wolves fought them. They were fierce, skilled combatants who had learned from past mistakes, deadly with arrows and swords and bloody bites.

One by one, the enemies were massacred. The wolves of Luna Dagda were close to finishing them off.

Yulak, the king's guard, grabbed Saya by the throat.

Savir smiled in frustration.

"You're a coward! And you call yourself a wolf? You and your king don't know the meaning of honor. You're beasts, bastards. Will you kill the little one instead of facing me? Coward!"

Yulak's blood heated. He threw the girl aside.

Saya scrambled away when she heard them growl.

Wolf against wolf, they fought to wound each other.

Saya could only watch, then dragged herself over to her father.

"Dad!"

"I'm fine..." he stammered, and Anika, who had returned safely, came to them sobbing and terrified.

Savir bit into that filthy wolf's arm. Saya watched him. He truly was a powerful wolf.

The other wolf tried to counterattack, but couldn't.

The man fell to the ground and screamed in pain.

Savir smiled.

"Tell your king never to set foot on lands belonging to the Luna Dagda pack again, or he'll die like his son!" he pronounced.

Savir walked toward Saya. Their eyes met. For an instant, something strange shone in his gaze. It was radiant. They held each other's stare intensely, and then that scent wrapped around Savir. He knew the sacred bond. It was in her.

"Watch out!" Saya cried behind him.

Savir lifted his head and managed to dodge the man's blow, but Yulak kept trying to strike him.

"Is that all you've got?" Savir shouted, laughing.

Yulak tried to come at him, but Savir slammed a hard punch into his stomach and sent him crashing down.

Yulak shifted into wolf form and ran far from there, frightened like an injured pup.

Savir smiled, satisfied.

"We've gotten ourselves into serious trouble with King Alpha Kadir," Byron said.

"And why should I care about King Alpha Kadir?" Savir shot back. "He'd better stay away, or I'll go after him. I promise you, even after all these years, he's still afraid of me."

Byron nodded, though he thought the Luna Dagda pack was still smaller in number than King Alpha Kadir's great army. Then again, Savir had once defeated the king and that great army almost by himself.

Saya raised her eyes and studied the man. She had never seen him before, but she had heard of the Luna Dagda tribe. In her pack, people said terrible things about them.

Her father let out a groan of pain.

The man came closer, and Saya trembled with fear. Their gazes crossed again. She felt the force of those eyes and instantly lowered her own. Then she smelled it too: mint, pine trees, fresh grass.

He is...

She refused to say it, because it was impossible. Impossible.

Savir examined the arrow wound. A man approached the injury and pulled out the arrow, which had onagra on it. The old man screamed, while Anika cried in her sister's arms. Their father fell silent when he noticed the fear in his daughters.

They placed cypress leaves over the wound and tried to cover his leg to stop the bleeding. Then several men decided to carry him and take him to the healers in the village.

"It will be harder to take him to the pack," Savir said, speaking as if the man's daughters were not standing right there.

Anika looked at Saya.

"Where are you taking my father?" Saya demanded when they lifted him.

Savir glanced sideways at her.

"We'll take him to the Luna Dagda pack."

"Why? Why won't you take him to our pack, to our healer, or to the priest?"

Savir's eyes fixed on the girl.

"We'll take him wherever I say, child. Look at yourself. You're alive, and that's because of me, because of the Alpha of Luna Dagda. Now you belong to me. Your father must be saved because he owes me your lives, and he has to pay for them."

Anika clung tightly to Saya. Saya was about to go after the man, but Anika stopped her.

"Don't do anything reckless, please. Think. They have Dad. They can kill him, and then they'll come for us. At least they haven't hurt us. Please."

Saya looked around at the bodies of the fallen men and knew Anika was right. They followed the man.

When they arrived at the pack, they saw the vast lands. It was a truly welcoming place. Saya and Anika walked behind their father. He was weak, but seeing them unharmed comforted him.

Women and men ran toward them. Some women took the day's hunt to redistribute it at the end of the month.

"Call the healer," Savir ordered.

Then they continued along the path until they reached an enormous castle of stone and iron. The girls stared in astonishment. They had once visited King Alpha Kadir's castle and King Alpha Hang's palace, and this castle was beautiful, just as beautiful as the others.

The girls followed their father as he was carried into a room with a bed. They laid him facedown because the wound was in his right calf, in the gastrocnemius muscle.

The healer did not take long to arrive. She began examining her patient.

Savir left the room.

"Keep this room watched. None of the three may leave without my consent. And bring them food," he ordered.

The healer applied ointments and treated the fever that had begun to rise.

"Will he be all right?" Saya asked.

The woman looked at her.

"He will. He's a strong man. Don't worry."

Saya felt better. They looked at the food that was brought to them. Anika did not hesitate to eat, but Saya had no appetite.

Savir went to his chambers. When he opened the door, a young woman leaped into his arms, straddling his waist and kissing him with passion and heat.

It was Kendra, his main concubine. Her kisses were fiery, their tongues moving wetly in that passionate kiss.

"Are you worn out from so much hunting, my chief?"

He set her on the bed and smiled wickedly.

"Actually, I couldn't hunt. I didn't have time. I had a problem."

Savir remembered the scent of that she-wolf and felt an urgency, a desire from his wolf, Rix. But he would not listen. Some things were forbidden to him, and having a mate was one of them.

"What happened, my Alpha?" the female asked, removing her dress and baring her breasts for him.

"Enemies I killed."

The girl smiled.

"No one can defeat my untamable Alpha," the woman said, reclining on the bed.

He moved closer. His mouth captured one of her pink peaks, his tongue caressing it. She gasped when someone knocked on the door.

"Damn it!" Savir snapped.

He went to the door and closed it behind him as he stepped out, finding his maid frightened by his annoyed expression.

"I'm sorry, Alpha."

"What do you want?"

"The council of elders has asked to see you. They say it's urgent."

Savir nodded. He would never miss a meeting with them.

He went down the stone stairs and made his way there.

Kendra left the room in a foul mood because the great chief had left her alone. She cursed under her breath.

Soon she came across a servant, who took her hand. It was her personal maid.

"What's wrong, Lotti?"

"The Alpha has brought females here, Kendra."

The woman went pale. Her hand curled into a fist.

"Where?" she cried desperately.

When Savir reached the council tent, the elders who made up the council were already there.

There were eight elders, including his father and stepmother.

Savir took a seat, uncertain why they had gathered.

"What matter does the dear council wish to discuss?"

"Alpha Savir, we have watched the hard work you've done leading the Luna Dagda pack. As always, we are proud of you. We gathered with you in mind. Our Moon Goddess sent us a message in a dream given to our dear Lady Lynn, who spoke it: 'It is time for our great Alpha to have his fated mate. It is time for our chief to have his Luna.'"

Savir had not expected those words. He quickly shook his head.

"I already have a partner. Maeve. You can't forget that," he said with force.

The elders looked at one another. It was the first time Savir had seen disappointment in them.

"Maeve is dead, Alpha. It is time to move on. You must marry. You must give us an heir as strong as Alpha Savir," old Lady Lynn said.

"I will never marry again. I will never find a woman like Maeve."

Lynn rose.

"In my dream, you looked happy with another woman. You said you loved her like the moon and the sun. You will be joined to a mate again. It will not be Maeve. It will be your fated Luna, Alpha."

Kendra went down the stairs until she reached the place where the servant had told her she would find the women.

"One woman has hair the color of the sun, and the other's is like night, but her eyes are the color of the sky, shining like stars," the woman said.

Kendra felt jealousy burn through her at that description. She peered into the doorway and saw them.

Rage hit her. The servant's account had not done the pair of young women justice. In truth, they were even more beautiful than the maid had said, and Kendra hated that. She had spent two long years fighting to capture Alpha Savir's attention for herself alone.

The Alpha, who in the past had kept a small group of concubines, had chosen to set them aside and accept Kendra as his only favorite. But that did not make her his wife.

That terrified her. If a woman appeared who stole the Alpha's attention, Kendra would be lost.

She stormed in and shouted, "Who are you? You're leaving this place right now! Don't think you're going to steal my man from me."

Saya rose from the floor, but she was not fast enough to stop Kendra from slapping her sister across the face and scratching her pale skin.

Saya sprang on the she-wolf savagely. No one got to touch her sister. She would not stand still for it.

Meanwhile, her father mumbled for her to stop. He was too weak even to speak properly.

Two guards came over and pulled Saya off Kendra, keeping the woman from hitting her again.

Saya was dragged away.

"Execute her! I want her killed!" Kendra screamed.

Anika cried out in terror, but they kept her from leaving. The young woman sobbed.

Saya felt fear as the guards took her outside the castle. Kendra followed them with a broad, happy smile.

Dread took hold of Saya. She knew this was serious.

"Did you think you were clever, coming here to seduce my male? Let's see how you'll do it without your head. Cut off her head!" Kendra cried.

The executioner went for his ax, ready to obey the woman who, to the subjects, seemed almost like the Alpha's female.

Savir walked back to the castle, thinking of Maeve, his first beloved mate, who had died eighteen years before. So many years of memories were piled inside his heart, and yet, no matter how much time passed, Savir could not forget her.

You're my only love, Maeve. I'll never love anyone. Only you, he thought.

Flashback:

Eighteen years earlier.

Savir remembered that day. He had not been the fated Alpha of the Luna Dagda pack then. The Alpha had been Kelly. He was young and strong, with a commanding voice that could bend every wolf to his will.

Back then, Savir was only eighteen. He was a born hunter and also served as a beta in the Alpha's army, a great warrior. But peace flooded the tribe, so he mostly helped with hunting.

That fatal day, he left early while Maeve washed clothes in the river. Savir kissed his little son in his cradle for the last time, then went away.

That day was carved into his soul. He hunted five deer by himself. They were happy. There would be a good feast, and in those days hunters earned good money for their prey.

Then they saw the man running toward them. He was from the pack, covered in blood and wounded.

"The pack was attacked!"

Fear seized Savir. He shifted into his wolf form and fought to get there, but what his eyes saw left him frozen.

The pack had been destroyed. Thousands of women, children, and elders had been murdered. He ran to his tent, wanting only to see his woman, but the sight before him broke his heart and soul. Maeve lay naked on the ground, dead, her hands stretched out and her eyes open.

"No! No, my love! Maeve!" he screamed.

Savir regained enough awareness to look for his baby, but then he saw that tiny body. The baby was dead too. He let out a scream of pain, and everything in his heart turned to shadow.

"Kill her once and for all!" Kendra's voice dragged him back to reality.

Saya was held down by the guard and forced to her knees. Terror gripped her. Her heart pounded as if it would burst out of her chest, and tears spilled from her eyes. She heard the executioner draw his sword and closed her eyes.

I'm going to die! Am I going to die now? she thought in horror.

The executioner raised the sword, ready to bring it down on her head.

"Stop!" Savir shouted.

Only then did the sword remain suspended in the air, and the guard stopped the executioner, who was mute and deaf. If he cut off that head against the Alpha's refusal, others would be the ones to die.

"What the hell is going on here?" Savir snarled, furious.

Kendra lowered her head, afraid. She almost never went above the Alpha's rules, much less gave orders. Today, she had lost control.

Saya rose and looked at the man.

"She hit me, Alpha!"

Savir looked at Kendra's bruised, scratched face, then turned severe, almost rabid eyes on Saya.

The young woman swallowed under that furious stare.

He came closer and looked her up and down. Other than her tears, she had no marks except the one she already had.

"You don't have a single bruise, female. Why did you strike one of my subjects? By what right?" he demanded, stopping in front of her.

Saya lifted her eyes, terrified.

"I..." Her voice shook.

"Please, don't hurt my sister. I'm begging you," Anika cried, dropping to her knees before him. She sobbed and lowered her gaze.

Savir looked at the young woman. With his hand, he lifted her chin and saw the scratches and wounds. Then he looked at Kendra and understood everything.

"You hit her? You struck my guest, Kendra?"

The woman backed away when she saw the fire of rage in Alpha Savir's eyes.

"Get out of my sight!" he roared, and the woman ran back inside the castle, frightened.

Savir turned his gaze back to the women. Anika rose from the ground and moved behind her sister as if Saya were her protective shield.

"Let us go, please. We want to return home. I promise our father will pay you for your help," Saya said.

The woman's words made Savir's eyes turn stoic and icy.

Anika grew frightened and murmured that she should be quiet.

"You won't leave here unless I say so. If I want, you live or die right now, child," he pronounced. "I don't need money. I have enough."

He walked away from them.

Saya hugged her sister and comforted her as she cried without stopping. Then they saw a woman wearing a delicate gold crown on her head, and Saya sensed she was important.

Lynn found Savir on the main balcony.

"What is it, Alpha? Have you thought about the proposal?"

"Enough, Mother Lynn. You're torturing me," he snapped.

Lynn had been his greatest support when his mother, his wife, and his son died. Still, her worst flaw was how controlling she could be. The woman touched his shoulder.

"Everyone says you're the great Alpha, that you're better than Kelly. But you lack what he had: his Luna. The pack is growing, son. If you want to remain the great Alpha, a Luna will unite your pack. You must show that you are stable, that you have your family. It is time for you to move on."

"Do you want me to marry Kendra?"

Lynn burst out laughing.

"That she-wolf is only useful for giving birth to bastard omegas. No. You need to be intelligent, son. You need alliances. I heard you have a lord from the Green Field kingdom here. It is time for you to marry a Lady. Choose between the lord's two girls. One of them will be your new Luna."